1. Your work is in line for a spotlight.

If it’s your first work, it’ll be placed in the New Member Spotlight without a wait.

If you chose to send it to a Personal spotlight, it’ll also enter that spotlight without a wait.

Otherwise, it’ll be placed in line for the Main Spotlight. The wait for the Main Spotlight depends on how many works of the same "type", (i.e. Novel, Short Story, etc.) are ahead of yours.

2. Your work is in a spotlight.

Your work can be critiqued for extra karma points.

When your work enters a spotlight, critiquers get extra karma for critiquing it. After your work receives 3 long critiques, it’ll be removed from that spotlight—even if those critiques were received before your work entered the spotlight!

3. Your work has left the spotlight.

Your work can still be critiqued, but for reduced karma points.

After your work leaves a spotlight, it can still be critiqued for 30 more days. Now it’s up to you to do some marketing legwork to get your fans and others to read and critique your work!

4. Your work is locked.

Your work can’t be critiqued or commented on any more, but members may still read it.

30 days after your work leaves a spotlight, your work will be locked. You can still edit, delete, or otherwise manage it, and other members may still read it, but nobody can critique or comment on it any more.

After you work is locked, you have the option of unlocking it for another 5 karma points. When you unlock it, your work keeps all the critiques it’s already received, and the work life cycle starts over from step 1!